minpinmom

I guess everyone has one - but here is mine.

I went in last Wednesday for a small fill. I am great for Breakfast and Lunch, but can eat anything, in any amount for supper. So I wanted a small fill. I have a 4CC Band and I am already at 3CC.

So, I go in and they tell me (and everyone else there) that the buildings AC was damaged during the Hurricane and only the front 1/2 of the building is cooled. So we ALL pile in the check-in area. Finally, it gets so crowded I ask if I can go to the back, I don't mind if it is warm. They let me and about 1/2 of everyone else.

So it is hot and we wait and we wait. Another patient comes in from the front and says - I heard them say Dr. Spiegel is stuck in surgery and they are sending over another Dr.

No big deal I figure - he is a LapBand Dr.

So, he gets there, I go back, they say yes I can have a SMALL fill. .2 CC.

He pokes and jabs and digs and even says he can't find it because I have GAINED weight! WTF I have LOST weight since the last time I was in. Ass.

Anyway, he finally finds it after 10-15 minutes of poking and scraping the port (yes, I could totally HEAR him do it).

So, I drink my bottle of water - no problem and go home.

Next day - water seems to be going down slowly. I am on liquids for 3 days following the fill - but I can tell they are not going down as they should.

So, day 4 I am supposed to start soft foods. NOPE, nothing will go down.

By now it is the weekend - so I survive on SlimFast and juice - I know I am not going to die, I mean how many people were on liquids for weeks! So I am not in any danger, but getting a little bitchy.

So, I call this morning (Monday) and tell the staff that I refuse to be seen by anyone other than Spiegel because of the pain that I endured. So, her response - you can come in on Thursday! AND, I will have to pay a regular visit fee, + the Barium Swallow Fee because it isn't an emergency! Apparently since I don't want to go back to Dr. PAIN I am going to have to pay.

My Dr. is SO going to hear about this.

As most of you know, Hurricane Ike blew through our area with much gusto. We lost trees and power. Our power was restored on Friday night giving us power 1 week after we lost it.

We were one of the lucky families that had wonderful neighbors that gave us an extension cord to their generator so we could keep our freezers running. The last few days of no power, a friend of ours brought over her generator so we had fans and lights and such. No AC, but still - it was awesome.

Neighbors pulled together, we chopped up trees and brought grilled food to all the neighbors who were without. We had a little lady living behind us, she is 86 and by herself. We thought about her after a couple of days and I am glad we did. She was living on cold chicken noodle soup.

We grilled lunch and dinner at my house everyday. Neighbors kicked in on food and we fed lots of families.

We also went through the food/water/ice lines every day and got what we could for the neighborhood. So many families lost all the freezers.

It is amazing how something like this pulls a group together. I kinda miss the evenings in the front yard, grill burning and folks walking up and down the roads chatting with each other.

I hope that part of what Ike brought remains.

We are lucky to have power - 30% of the area is still without. Luckily, now food, generators and gas are easy to find. It was not fun to sit in a gas line for 3 hours to get a maximum of 25$ worth of fuel and then to find out they ran out.

We drove hours to find gas stations and grocery stores open. Everyone would pile into one vehicle and we would hit the road. It was so nice to find milk and BREAD :-)

Thanks everyone for the prayers - they were answered. I have included a few pictures of our neighborhood. I also have a video on myspace - you can find me by looking up Wendy Baldwin in Conroe TX

The first picture is our backyard, the second is a neighbors tree, third is a sign that was completely bent and the fourth is a car that thought it could make it through a flooded street.

Okay - so I live like 80 miles from the Gulf Coast so we aren't in grave danger. We don't have to worry about storm surge. We do have to worry about 100 mph wind and lots of rain. However - we have gotten everything we needed to done - so I am relaxing with a nice cool beverage.

My neighborhood is mostly staying put. A lot of people boarded up their windows. We have TONS of trees - so the high wind is bound to bring some of them down. We didn't board up - hopefully the trees will miss our windows :-)

I have friends and family that are a lot closer than we are - so I hope they are safe and of course any and all of my Lapband buddies in the area.

But for now, I sit back with a nice glass of Riesling and enjoy all of my handywork. I have been a busy gal.

I hope we don't lose power till close to the end of it all - Eddie can't handle the heat with him MS - so we will end up driving to my parents an hour North if we do. They have dial up - so if we do - you sure won't hear from me for a while :-)

Anyways - I just wanted to give a shout out to my friends in the danger zone and let everyone know we will be hunkered down.

Stay safe, dry and wear lots of hairspray!

Some of you guys don't know me, so a little history. My husband Eddie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2004. It has been very difficult. MS is considered a Terminal Illness, not the best news for someone in their 20s. He is currently Medically Retired from the USAF with 100% disability. He is now 32 and living day by day. Some days, he does great - you couldn't tell he was affected. Other days, he stays in bed. We take each day given to us.

Anyways, to raise money and awareness for the disease, I am doing a MS Walk this year. Below is the information - I copied the body of the email I am sending out.

To all my friends and family,

All of you know our struggle with MS. Each year there are MS Walks all over the country. This year I have decided I would walk for Eddie. My Mom is going to join me, along with Sasha (one of our dogs) on Saturday, September 27th in The Woodlands.

I am asking for donations of any size. This is a great cause that affects us deeply. Here is the link if you would like to donate online, if you would rather write a check, either send me an email or give me a call and I will be more than happy to come pick it up. Here is the link to donate online.

(you will have to copy and paste link, lapbandtalk won't let it link)

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Eddie.Baldwin

(below is the suggested details I include - I didn't want to leave anything out - so I included it as well)

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That's why I registered for the MS Walk and that's why I'm asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of MS but they can't do it without our help. It's faster and easier than ever to support this cause that's so important to me. Simply click on this link:

(you will have to copy and paste link, lapbandtalk won't let it link)

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Eddie.Baldwin

Any amount, great or small, helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I do.

P.S. If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from the MS Walk are used, or the other ways you can get involved in the fight against MS, please visit Home : National MS Society.

Thanks so much,

Wendy Baldwin - walking for Eddie Baldwin

It spread to my neck. They started me on a steroid pack today - I don't feel like I am banded at all - I am starving - and eating like crazy. I feel very little restriction. I am super swollen - I hope that is what the weight gain is. I had gained 7 lbs when I went to the dr. today. I am trying to eat healthy. Okay - so the brownies weren't healthy - but they were low fat

The steroids make me feel like I am running out of my skin. I feel like a humming bird. A huge freaking spotted humming bird. :-) The steroids are helping. I take 6 doses today. Everytime I take a dose - the bumps go away for a couple of hours. Hopefully it will get rid of them totally soon.

Funny - at the Dr.s office - little kids were pointing and talking about me - and I knew it wasn't because I was fat! I guess you had to be there - in the elevator - I got in and everyone moved to the other side :-) too funny.

I almost wish I was contagious!

WENDY

Okay, so on Thursday evening my hands started itching and got red. Then, my arms, feet, knees and legs. Soon I was covered with red whelps.

I have never been allergic to anything - but something has changed. I started taking Benadryl (which knocks me smooth out) and putting Cortisone Creams on. It helped, but it would come back after about 3 hours.

I called my Dr. Friday morning (they are only open a 1/2 day on Fridays) The nurse said to continue doing what I was doing, that it should go away - if it gets worse, to go to the afterhours clinic.

It got worse. :-)

So, this morning I went to the clinic. They gave me a sterroid shot and warned me that it would cause me to be very hungry - she said most people gain a FEW pounds with them. That is just what I need.

She also gave me a sterroid pack to take home and get filled on Tuesday if I am not significantly better by Tuesday. I am also taking Zyrtec (double dose), Claritin (double dose) and Pepcid AC (which I thought was weird, but she said it contains an anti-hystimine).

I got home, took an oatmeal bath and the spots started going away.

That was around noon.

They are coming back.

Ugh.

So, I guess I will continue what I am doing and hope for the best.

I thought I would include a few pics for you guys to share in my pain :-)